Follow us on twitter!

Chair’s Message – April 2017

It seems that winter may be taking a little longer to leave us this year but hopefully by the time you read this spring will be out in full force! I would like to share with you the latest updates.

Our Annual General Meeting was a great success and we said adieu to Kristy Slough and welcomed Steve Douglas to the Board. We are very lucky to have a strong and dedicated Board that keeps working to look out for the interests of the users of Brenda Leipsic Dog Park. That is not to say we would not welcome others who would like to join the Board! If you feel the urge to volunteer a little of your time we would be glad to appoint you to a vacant Director position. It is rewarding work on a great cause. Contact us through the website if this is something of interest to you.

Attendees at the Annual General Meeting also benefitted from the presentation of Kas Zurek of the City of Winnipeg on the stormwater retention basin project that is just starting at the east end of the Parker lands. Thanks for Kas and Ray Offman from KGS Group for taking the time to join us on a Saturday afternoon. If you were unable to attend the AGM, information on this project can be found at the LINK.

The other item from the Annual General Meeting that I would like to share is the change to the membership dues. The dues have been reduced from $10 to $5 per year. The membership year remains unchanged and begins on October 1 of each year. For those folks who paid the $10 membership prior to the AGM, your membership will be extended to September 30, 2018. This was done in order to increase membership and be consistent with the membership dues at other dog parks in the City.

Work on the Bus Rapid Transit Project (and our redeveloped dog park) will be starting up again shortly. Our existing parking lot will be relocated to the north to allow for the extension of Hurst Ave to happen and to allow us access to the forested area to walk our dogs. There may be a few days during the next few months where we will be unable to access the parking lot due to construction activities – PLEASE be safe and avoid any conflicts with the construction equipment.

This summer we will also begin reviewing the design for the new dog park! Plenary Roads (the company that is designing and building the new bus rapid transitway) is also required to design and build our redeveloped dog park. A functional design will be completed over the summer months and the Board looks forward to sharing the design with you and seeking feedback. Expect that to occur in the fall of 2017. We are still on track to see construction completed by the fall of 2019.

I hope the temporary dog park area will dry up shortly and we will see each other soon!